On April 14th 2008, the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information will hold the inaugural meeting of the Network of Research Centers on ICT in Latin America. This cross-disciplinary academic network seeks to advance knowledge on the social and economic impact of ICTs in Central and Latin America, and examine the policy and regulatory issues that affect its broad-based development. After a preparatory meeting held at the Universidad de San Andrés (Buenos Aires, Argentina) on October 2007, the network has cemented to include some of the leading ICT research centers in the region, as well as a selected group of research centers from North America and Europe. As of today, 14 research centers from Latin America, 4 from North America and 1 from Europe have joined the network. New centers are expected to join this initiative in the near future. The key goals of the network are: Examine and learn from policies that accelerate digital inclusion in the region Learn about each others' research, shape the research agenda and present analysis and research and subject them to peer critique Look into ways that could result in the modernization of networks Advance the adoption of new technologies with business models appropriate for the region Assist policymakers in designing different models of national Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) strategies and evaluating the impact of new technologies in socioeconomic development Educate policymakers and the general public about the importance of ICT investments in the delivery of education, health and other government services Facilitate dialogue and promote public-private partnerships around ICT policy objectives Disseminate successful experiences (and failures) and promote exchange of ideas around ICT policy across the region Holding an annual academic conference with participation from key industry leaders and government representatives will be one of the main activities of the network. The launching conference on April 14, 2008 will address four key issues: next-generation regulatory frameworks, the future of broadcasting services, future technology platforms appropriate for the region, and future telecommunications services for emerging markets. Research centers affiliated so far with the network: Argentina: Centro de Tecnología y Sociedad, Universidad de San Andrés Brazil: Centro de Políticas, Derecho, Economía y Tecnologías de las Comunicaciones, Universidad de Brasilia Departamento de Antropología, Política e Filosofía, Universidad Estadual Paulista Chile: Departamento Ciencia de la Computación-Facultad de Ingeniería Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Centro de Estudios Públicos – Universidad de Chile Colombia: Centro de Estudios de Competitividad, Universidad de Los Andes Ecuador: Diploma Conjunto en Economía, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Ecuador Centro de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Cuenca  Mexico: Programa de Investigación en Telecomunicaciones, Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económica Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México Escuela de Graduados en Administración y Dirección de Empresas, Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey Peru: Instituto Perú, Universidad San Martín de Porras Instituto para Estudios Avanzados Venezuela: Maestría en Información y Comunicación para el Desarrollo, Universidad Central de Venezuela Spain: ENTER – Centro de Análisis de la Sociedad de la Información y las Telecomunicaciones, Instituto de Empresa. United States: Columbia Institute for Tele-information, Columbia University Annenberg Research Network on International Communication, University of Southern California Quello Center for Telecommunications Management & Law, Michigan State University Center for the Study of Hispanic Marketing Communication, Florida State University